Art of the Enlightenment

 

    I chose to analyze the painting, “A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery” which was painted by Joseph Wright of Derby. This painting, completed at some point between the years 1763 and 1765, depicts a philosopher giving a lecture of a group of people. Now, it is extremely important to note that the group is made up of both men and women of varying ages. During this time period, men were the ones that had access to education. Women, on the other hand, were meant to stay home, cook, clean and watch after the children. The depiction of women actually being taught valuable information is extraordinary, considering the woman’s role in society at this point in history. Even today, women have to fight for rights they should have been given centuries ago. For instance, despite the fact that women are more likely to have a college degree then men are, woman are typically seen in lower paying jobs and they are even paid less than their male colleagues in the same line of work. While this painting depicts the beginning of women becoming equals to men, there was, and still is, a long way yo go in creating the equality that men and women deserve.

    The group is gathered around an orrery, which, during the time period, was a technologically advanced model to represent the solar system, the orbits of the individual planets and their distances from each other and from the sun. The Enlightenment was a period that heavily centered around science, both in terms of natural science, as well as the discoveries and creations of new, advanced tools. The fact that the people attending the lecture are being taught about science and space is huge in proving that the Enlightenment period was successful and improved society and the lives of civilians. Especially considering how strong of a grip the Catholic Church had on much of Europe at this point in time, it is beyond revolutionary to see that science was beginning to challenge religion in way never done before. Much like today, there were many conflicts, during the Enlightenment era, brought on by the differing of religion. Unlike today, the freedom of religion was not a privilege had by the citizens in Europe at the time. This painting, depicting teachings outside of what religion says about science and the world, was a very modern concept that one would not expect to see if it were not for the period of Enlightenment.